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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Cherd, post: 7916188, member: 24754&quot;]Given the fact that auction houses make money by providing a public facing sale platform, and then skimming money off of the sale prices of other people&#039;s collectables, I see any influence on sale price to be nefarious on their part.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is all pure speculation, but I suspect that the strategy goes something like this:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Auction houses provide estimates with the intention of driving up sale prices on the whole, this is most effective for items where value may be difficult to determine. This type of influence is most effective on people that are less knowledgeable.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>2. Items that are famous or well documented will carry a final sale price that is independent of their influence. They will tend to underestimate the these items in order to bolster a reputation of under-estimating value.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. A reputation for providing low estimates makes #1 work more effectively.</p><p><br /></p><p>People tend to trust public auctions because the value of items is determined by what people are willing to pay. This dynamic becomes corrupted when those that benefit from higher sale prices exert influence on our bids. That being the case, auction houses should keep their damn estimates to themselves. They are essentially saying, &quot;I benefit if you bid more, now let me tell you what you should bid!&quot;.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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